Welcome
and Congratulations
Dear Student,
On behalf of all the faculty and staff at Benedictine University, we
congratulate you on your selection as a participant in the 2008 MEPI
Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders. That you were chosen
for this program from among many outstanding candidates attests to your
academic achievements and your potential for leadership in the future.
This letter serves to both welcome you to the program and to offer some
information about the Institute program and Benedictine University. You
will certainly have many additional questions for us, and we strongly
encourage you to contact us with those questions. As you will discover
in this program, we believe effective communication is essential to
strong leadership and academic growth and so we hope you will start
communicating with us before you arrive.
The Institute program at Benedictine University will take place
from June 30 to August 13, 2008 and is supported by the United
States' Middle East Partnership Initiative through the U. S. Department
of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Benedictine University
is one of six universities chosen to host the program.
We have put together an effective team to implement and administer the
program. Carol Swett, the director of the International Programs at
Benedictine University and her staff, along with Benedictine College of
Liberal Arts Dean, Maria de la Cámara, will administer the
program. The academic and leadership components of the program will be
directed by Professors Tammy Sarver, of Benedictine's Political Science
Department, and and Marie Di Virgilio, Director of Information
Technology at Allstate Insurance Co. and graduate of
Benedictine's Ph.D. program in Organizational Development. The academic
and leadership session will also include faculty from across the
university and numerous guest speakers and participants who will add
their expertise to the subject matter.
The two study tours will be coordinated by Benedictine University’s
International Programs Office staff. In addition you will
have a team of students from Benedictine who will be your "Mepi
Mentors" on local activities and trips, arranged by the International
Programs Office at the university.
After a few days of orientation and sightseeing in Washington DC, you
will spend four of the next six weeks in residence at Benedictine
University. Benedictine University was founded in Chicago as St.
Procopius College by the Benedictine monks of St. Procopius Abbey in
1887, and moved to the more congenial atmosphere of Lisle, in DuPage
County. It is situated on a 108-acre campus and has 10 major buildings,
featuring a recently built comprehensive learning center and advanced
science facility.
At Benedictine, you will be staying at Founder's Woods apartment
and take meals at Krasa Center, the student commons. You will
have two Resident Advisors at Founders Woods to assist you in
using the facilities and address your housing questions. Campus
security is provided by our Public Safety Police Department, located
in Krasa. The University has five colleges-covering the Sciences;
Business and professional programs; Social Sciences and Humanities;
and Public Health and Education. There are approximately 4,500
undergraduate and graduate students and, like colleges and universities
of this size, Benedictine prides itself on faculty and staff interaction
and close collaboration with its students. Additionally, Benedictine
is one of the most diverse small universities in the Midwestern
United States and has a successful history of accommodating and
welcoming students from the Middle East and North African region.
Muslim students also have access to dedicated prayer space located
on campus.
The Institute program focuses leadership training and understanding the
United States, and connects these two goals under the theme "The
Challenge of Leadership in a Democratic and Diverse Society." More
specifically, the leadership program provides an overview and theories
of leadership and then explores critical skills: group dynamics,
communication, effective problem solving, managing diversity,
leadership ethics and values. These skills are then observed and
practiced "in the real world" through valuable site visits (World
Vision and University of Chicago Hospital, among others) and through
volunteer projects and campus events. The volunteer projects will
include opportunities to participate in constructing housing for a low
income family and specific hands-on activities at organizations
selected for you.
Our focus on the United States centers upon a series of challenges that
America faced in its past, or continues to address today. A few of the
challenges include expanding political equality, religious freedom and
tolerance, increasing social diversity, economic and labor rights, and
promoting democracy abroad. As a student in the program, you are
required to read the assigned readings and prepare questions or
assignments for class discussions. At other times you will give oral
presentations or debate issues of that session.
After the first two weeks at Benedictine University, you will travel on
your first study tour to San Francisco from July 19 to July 26, where
you will explore one of America's most diverse and exciting
metropolitan areas. You will return to Benedictine for two further
weeks of study and then travel on your second study tour to the East
Coast, specifically Boston and returning to Washington DC, from August
7 until your departure from Dulles airport on August 13.
Like most American universities, Benedictine encourages an open
exchange of ideas and views. You will be hearing from a variety of
perspectives, some of which will question and criticize current
national and state government policies. You will discover from the
class sessions and in conversation with students and residents that a
great part of American diversity is the range of opinion we have about
our government and society. Indeed we will encourage you to share your
own view during class presentations and debates.
The program has created many opportunities to explore the culture and
attractions of the Chicago area and the cities on the study trips. We
believe you will indeed enjoy the sight-seeing and building friendships
with your fellow participants and members of the Benedictine community.
You will be required (subject to medical situations) to attend lectures
and class discussions, to travel on field trips, and to participate in
volunteer projects and campus forums. Parts of the schedule you will
find intense, particularly when a day moves from academic to leadership
to volunteer activity. We should add that there will be specific rules
connected to the Institute and the MEPI program that will be reviewed
thoroughly with you at the beginning of the program.
We shall be communicating regularly with you before you arrive. Should
you have questions about the program, please do not hesitate to contact
us by email, phone or fax. The staff and faculty of Benedictine
University look forward to meeting you and assisting you in learning
about American society, politics and culture. We hope you will find
your time with us is only the start of learning about the U.S. and of
many life-long friendships.
With warm regards,
Carol Swett
Director, International Programs
Administrative Director of the Institute
cswett@ben.edu/ 630-829-6342
Maria de la Cámara, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Liberal Arts, and
Administrative Coordinator of the Institute
mdelacamara@ben.edu/ 630-829-6247
Tammy Sarver, Ph.D.
Assoc. Professor of Political Science, and
Academic Director of the Institute
tsarver@ben.edu / 630-829-6473
Marie Di Virgilio, Ph.D.
Professor of Organization Development, and
Leadership Training Director of the Institute
jludema@ben.edu/ 630-829-6229
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